Hey ho, my friends! I recently sent out a BIG UPDATE to my newsletter subscribers (you can sign up HERE if you haven’t already) and figured… maybe I should share some of that news here too.
IN SHORT:
A lot has happened in the last year. I got married, for one! (To the absolute love of my life: a real-life prince charming who’s a big ol’ nerd like me and has become an invaluable brainstorm partner as well.)
And I’ve made quite a shift in writing projects. Read on for the details!
Not far from Hobbiton, tucked away in the village of Bywater, stands the Green Dragon Inn. And within the cozy confines of this pub, a jolly good celebration is about to take place. The sounds of laughter—and downright guffaws, in some cases—is already filtering out into the early evening air.
Inside, warm golden light spills over a crowd that would ordinarily be much too big for the Green Dragon… yet somehow, the entire audience fits around the well-worn wooden tables. Perhaps Pippin persuaded a wizard or two to work some magic and broaden the space.
Which is a very good thing for this year’s hostess (yours truly), because her home has been a madhouse—first crammed full with sixty-five imp nominees, then with the five remaining pranksters—and it’s nice to have some room to breathe now. Even if it is rather loud and talkative in here.
As food and drink is passed around, a short, curly-haired hobbit hops up onto the center table. “Well then, I s’ppose we should get started!” he crows by way of announcement.
A roar of approval erupts from the readers and characters present.
“I’m Pippin, otherwise known as Peregrin Took, and I think we impish folk have worn our poor hostess out.” He sends a twinkling grin toward a young woman slumped in a chair in the back corner. From the look of her mussed bedhead and the dark circles under her eyes, she’s frazzled to the point of exhaustion. “Which is why,” Pippin continues, “I told her she could bow out of today’s ceremony. So you’re all stuck with ME for the rest of this party! But not to worry, I’ve done this gig a fair few times, and everything is under control.”
Folks, I have lost all trust in humanity. After housing the sixty-five nominated imps at my place for the past week, I can’t open doors without being jump-scared… can’t eat a sandwich without something suspect being slipped between my salami… and can’t get a wink of sleep for fear of being jolted out of bed by some horrific crash upstairs.
It certainly doesn’t help that Josiah’s nearly three dozen henchmen were ALSO sharing our quarters. They no doubt influenced the imps towards more dastardly deeds than usual.
And Pippin? Well, that hobbit has been no help at all. He spent the week in absolute stitches, laughing at my expense, and is actually at the walk-in clinic as we speak, complaining of a very sore stomach. That’s what you get, you fool of a Took.
Now, my co-hosts have tried to be helpful. Christine did offer to send dragons to help wrangle the imps into order, but I declined, saying it might be best to keep all open flames well away from the likes of my company. Kenzie also offered to send a few wise counselors over, but none of them showed up. I think they got distracted by a philosophical discussion about the merits of courage and forgot all about my troubles.
But no worries. After five years of hosting under my belt, I knew what I was signing up for.
I just hope my Silmaril Awards Host Insurance will cover the busted front door, the damage done to my living room couches by glittering pink slime, and the gaping hole blown into my backyard…
Now then! I’d better introduce the nasty delightful imps who rose to the top of the heap, so that you know who to vote for. Without further ado, I present… THIS YEAR’S TOP FIVE MISCHIEVOUS IMPS!
To celebrate reaching 800 followers on Instagram, I’m hosting a giveaway with THREE winners! I’ll be giving away a copy of Warriors Against the Storm and Bingeworthy… plus an art commission. All the details are in this post here:
And that’s it for today! Just wanted to make sure you lovely bookdragons heard about it and had a chance to enter. 😊 If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet, the form is right HERE.
Can’t wait to draw the winners next week!!!
